Longing
by nick2951
Summary: A ghost from the past returns to the stage. But in a way no one suspected.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Don't own Gundam Seed or Gundam Seed Destiny.

As the dawn of a new day made its mark on the small apartment complex, its signs were not visible in the room where a young woman slept. When she had gone to bed, the woman had made sure that the new blinds she bought were firmly closed. The sun always woke her up before she needed to and that pissed her off greatly.

After a good hour and a half of sunrise, a loud screech of the woman's alarm clock went off in the room. She opened her eyes and reached out hitting the snooze button. After laying there for a few minutes, the woman sat up and stretched her arms while yawning. Her long red hair was a mess and it itched.

Kicking off the covers, the woman stood up and walked to the small bathroom next to her room. Turning on the shower, the woman washed herself and relished the feel of the hot water on her skin. It made her forget life and gave her solace. After spending a good twenty minutes in the shower, she finally turned off the water and dried herself off with a green towel from the rack.

Wrapping the towel around her body, the woman walked out of the bathroom and back into her room. Going up to the dresser, she opened the top drawer and pulled out a pair of yellow panties and matching bra. Unwrapping the towel and letting it drop to the ground, she slipped on the undergarments and walked to her closet and grabbed a pair of blue jeans and a red shirt. She put on the clothes and then briefly brushed her hair. After she was done fixing herself up, she went to the kitchen to fix herself breakfast.

The kitchen was quite small and could only have one or two people at a time in side. It was rather plain looking, as was the rest of the apartment, and most of the kitchen utilities were cheap. However, the woman did not care so as long as it worked.

Grabbing a bowl from the cupboard and filling it with cereal, the red-haired woman opened the refrigerator and grabbed the milk. She poured the last of it onto her cereal and made a mental note to stop by the store on her way home from work.

As she was eating, a sudden pain ripped through her head and she dropped the spoon onto the table. She closed her eyes and took in the pain like she always did. It was a frequent thing for her and though she hated it, she dealt with it. She felt that it was her punishment for past actions.

After finishing her food, Fllay put the dirty dishes in the sink and grabbed her purse. As she walked out the door and locked up behind her, Fllay spotted one of her neighbors.

"Hi Mrs. Trask" greeted Fllay with a smile.

"Hello dear, off to work?" asked the older woman.

"Yes I am; yourself?" asked Fllay.

"Off to the store to get some food for my cat. You have a good day" said the woman as she walked down the street.

Fllay walked in the opposite direction and down the steps to the street below. It was still a little early in the morning so there was hardly any traffic on the street. However, there was hardly any traffic at all since the PLANT Maius she was living at was more of a residential one than any of the other PLANT cities. The city had various businesses and shops, but they were small and locally owned. The largest building in the PLANT city, besides the spaceport, ZAFT base, and the local college was the Mall. However, that was currently on the other side of the PLANT from where Fllay lived and worked.

As she moved into the business district, Fllay passed numerous people who were opening their shops. They smiled and nodded at her and she greeted them back. Fllay long understood that the people who worked and ran their shops in the business district treated each other with respect and considered themselves family.

Fllay arrived at her destination and stepped inside the building. It was a pastry shop called "Special Treats" which sold all kinds of cakes and sweets. The owner of the shop was also Fllay's landlord as well and had employed her when she first moved into the building. They were on very good terms and the owner, Jacob Caruso, considered the girl like his own granddaughter. However, that was the case with the other two people who worked in the shop with Fllay.

Closing the door behind her, Fllay turned to see two people jump away from each other from behind the counter.

"Didn't Mr. Caruso tell you guys to stop making out while the store is open?" asked Fllay in an annoyed tone as she walked behind the counter and placed her purse in the small cubby below the register. Both her co-workers looked at each other sheepishly and blushed.

"You're not going to say anything, are you?" asked Serena McCain looking around to see if the coast was clear. She had black hair, brown eyes, and was very brown skinned which she owned to her Latino heritage from Earth. She was dressed in a white blouse with blue jeans which made her seem quite mature despite how she acted.

"Just don't make a spectacle while customers are inside the store and I'll keep quiet" replied Fllay as she clocked in.

"Thanks Fllay; we owe you" said Michael Jennings, Serena's boyfriend. He had blue hair and green eyes which were a result of his genetic heritage. He was wearing a pair of light brown slacks and a red t-shirt.

"I'll add it to the list" said Fllay dryly as she walked into the back office.

"We really need to get her a boyfriend" said Serena quietly when Fllay was out of ear shot.

"We need to get her laid" said Michael with a grin. Serena hit him in the shoulder and he yelped in pain. Both of them got back to work as Fllay once again appeared.

As Fllay took her place behind the counter, she looked up at the clock and then around the empty store.

"Have any customers come in today?" asked Fllay.

"No; remember, today is the one year anniversary of the end of the 2nd Bloody Valentine War. So most of the people in the city left for the memorial at Aprilius One" replied Serena, leaning against the counter.

"Ah, that makes sense" said Fllay. She had totally forgotten the date, which she found quite funny.

"Can't believe it's been a year already; let's hope the peace goes through this time" said Michael, checking the temperature of the cooler where the pastries were displayed.

"Well Lacus Clyne is now Chairman of the Council and that new Atlantic Federation President is a moderate, so it looks like things are going well. I actually hear he's planning a trip to the PLANTS to sign a new treaty that the Orb Leader proposed" said Serena.

At the mention of Lacus's name, Fllay flinched slightly as an old memory surfaced from the first war. Both Serena and Michael caught the movement but said nothing. They suspected that Fllay had ghosts from the past that she was hiding and hoped that one day she would come clean about her past. However, both Serena and Michael agreed that pressing her would be a bad idea and decided to let her come out on her own.

There was also the fact that Fllay had a closer relationship with their boss than the two of them and they needed their jobs way too much.

…………………………………………………………………………………….

"Shouldn't we be at the memorial?" asked a red-haired girl, dressed in a green Z.A.F.T uniform as she continued to drive down the road. Along side of them were numerous businesses and shops that looked a little empty of customers.

"The ceremony doesn't start for a few more hours and I've been craving these certain type of pastries for a while now" replied another red-head next to her in the passenger's seat.

"Can't you get pastries at Aprilius One? There has to be a dozen shops in the city that sell them?" asked the girl in the driver's seat.

"Not these kind; they only are sold in this city and I promised Shinn that I would get one for him" answered the girl next to her.

"As long as we make it on time" said an irritated blond woman in the back seat. She had been dragged into this little side trip by the suggestion of another.

"Come on Cagalli; all you do when you come to the PLANTS is business. You need to get out and enjoy what the PLANTS have to offer" said Lunamaria; with a smile on her face.

"She is right, Ms. Lacus and General Yamato say that you have been working too hard lately" said Meyrin Hawk, agreeing with her sister.

"I have to remind myself to whack that idiot brother of mine over the head" muttered Cagalli to herself with a scowl. Both girls in front of her giggled at that.

The trio continued to drive along until Lunamaria suddenly told them to stop the car. The car stopped in front of a green colored shop and parked in front of it.

"This is the place; you guys want to go with me inside?" asked Luna as she got out of the car.

"Nah, we'll wait in the car. Just don't take all day" answered Cagalli. Meyrin nodded as well.

"You're loss" replied the girl and she turned and walked inside the building.

……………………………………………………………………………………..

Serena looked up as a short red-haired girl dressed in an elite ZAFT uniform walked into the store. Serena smiled and greeted the girl. She was the only one in the front of the store. Flay went into the back to do some paper work and Michael had left to get them lunch.

"Hi, welcome to Caruso Pastries; can I help you?" asked Serena.

"Can I get seven bear claws, eight Danishes, five scones, and some apple turnovers please?" asked Luna with a dreamy smile as she looked at the pastries through the counter window.

"No problem" responded Serena as she opened the small door behind the counter and used tongs to grab the desserts, placing them in a large paper bag.

Lunamaria looked around as Serena continued to gather her food. Noticing the lack of anyone else in sight, she asked "Are you the only one here?"

"No; one of my co-workers is out to get lunch and my other co-worker Fllay is in the back" replied Serena, folding the top of the paper bag over. Serena then walked over to the register and rang the girl up.

Luna paid the girl and then walked out the door with her food. As the door opened, Fllay walked in from the back.

"Customer?" asked Flay with surprise.

"Yeah, a military soldier; bought about fifty bucks worth of pastries" responded Serena.

"They don't get the opportunity of having desert on their ships, so that make sense" said Fllay. She then turned and walked into the back again.

………………………………………………………………………………..

Cagalli froze as she watched the two shop workers talking through the glass door. Not noticing Luna getting inside the car, Cagalli continued to look inside the store until she saw one of the workers head into the back.

"Are you alright? It looks like you saw a ghost" said Meyrin with a concerned look on her face.

"No; just thought I recognized someone from the past" replied Cagalli, as she continued to look out the window.

"I guess that was Fllay" said Luna as she looked into the bag and smiled.

"What did you say?" asked Cagalli, shocked.

"The other girl we saw just now; her name is Fllay. Is something wrong?" asked Luna, turning her head to look at the blond.

"No, nothing at all" answered Cagalli, regaining her composure. Both Luna and Meyrin looked at each other and shrugged, focusing their attention back at the sweets.

Cagalli just sat there, deep in contemplation. _'It can't be! She's dead'_ thought the blond. However, she knew that the name and resemblance were too much to be a coincidence. She knew that she would be spending a few weeks at the PLANTS before heading back to Earth and vowed to get to the bottom of her suspicions.

No matter what.

Author's Note: Well here is my first foray in Gundam Seed Fanfiction and I hope I have caught your interest. There will a pairing but that will occur later as the fic progresses. I will say this though: while I am a Kira/Fllay fan and plan to a fic with that pairing, Kira stays with Lacus in this story. Sorry to all the K/F fans but I hope you will stick with the fic. I like to thank my friends Noshmono and Sideris for the pre-read.

Please R&R


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Don't own Gundam Seed or Gundam Seed Destiny

Fllay wiped the sweat off her face as she placed the final tray of pastries in the walk in refrigerator. The work was a little harder than she thought and Fllay almost regretted sending Serena and Michael home early. Closing the door of the frig; she sat in the chair that was located in back of her and caught her breath.

It had been a week since the ceremony at Aprilius One and life seemed to return to normal around the city. The store got busy the next day and business was good. Mr. Caruso had stopped by in his usual cheery mood and gave everyone a souvenir that he had picked up from Aprilius One when attending the event. It was cheap and tacky but the man's heart was in the right place.

Fllay yawned and stood up. Everything was done and she figured it was time to go home. Heading to the front of the store and grabbing her purse from behind the counter, Fllay walked to the door and flicked off the lights. After leaving the building, she made sure the door was locked and headed for home.

The sun was beginning to set and Fllay still found it funny on how much it seemed that she was on Earth than an artificial environment. Everything from the weather to the environment was copied from Earth to the best of one's ability. It even rained from time to time even though it was not needed.

As she walking, Fllay watched as she passed a young couple, which seemed about her age, holding hands and laughing together. Though Fllay found the scene touching, she felt saddened since it reminded her on how much empty her life was. Though she had finally moved on, Fllay knew that Kira would always be in her heart.

There were times that Fllay wished for the comfort of another human being. She had considered dating again about a few months ago on the advice of Serena. However, things had come up which prevented her from going out.

Approaching her apartment complex, Fllay took out the keys to her apartment and walked up the steps. Stopping for a moment to check the mail, Fllay looked through the envelopes separating the junk mail from the rest. One letter stood out and Fllay's eyes brightened. She sped up her pace and once she arrived at her apartment, Fllay unlocked the door and quickly stepped inside and locked the door behind her.

Dropping her purse, Fllay kicked off her shoes and turned on the front room light. Tossing the rest of the mail onto the small kitchen table as she walked in, she ripped open the letter she had been waiting for and read the contents out loud.

"Dear Ms. Davis, we are happy to inform you that you have been approved for the scholarship program that you applied for. We hereby request that you attend a mandatory meeting on August 19th at 10am to sign various documents for the college or school you will be attending" read Fllay with a smile. She beamed in joy and looked at the calendar on the wall. The appointment was in two months which was plenty of time to be ready for.

Taking a seat at the kitchen table, Fllay breathed a sigh of relief as a major issue in her life was becoming stable. Fllay had been stressing about the issue for a while now ever since she had decided to seek financial help in going to medical school. Her job paid the bills but that was as far as it went. Asking Mr. Caruso was out of the idea since she felt that becoming to dependent on him was a bad idea.

Fllay had come across the scholarship plan at the bank when she was cashing her check. Her bank was sponsoring it and the plan promised full coverage to any school including tuition, housing on the campus, and books. Fllay filled out an application right there and was then required to take an exam to see if she would qualify.

Contrary to what most people thought in her old life, Fllay was a very bright student and received very excellent grades. Her father demanded it and Fllay was happy to comply. So when the day of the application exam came up, Fllay did very well and received one of the highest grades out of everyone who took the test with her.

Feeling hungry, Fllay stood up and pulled out the leftover spaghetti out of the refrigerator that she had cooked last night and heated it up in the microwave. After leaving the hospital and moving into her apartment, Fllay learned how to cook. Though she was not at the level of a great culinary expert, she did a very good job at what she cooked. However, most of the time it was very basic dishes since Fllay was usually too tired from work to cook anything fancy.

When the buzzer sounded, Fllay pulled out the bowl full of spaghetti out of the microwave and grabbed a fork out of the top drawer next to the sink. Grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge, Fllay walked over to the couch and flopped onto it, using the remote to turn on the television.

There was nothing much on and the news was covering nothing but the soon to be historical visit by the Atlantic Federation President to the PLANT. The purpose of the visit was to sooth relations between the two nations as well as to hammer out a few new trading agreements.

Fllay often wondered if Kira would be at the talks since Lacus was the Head of the PLANT Council. The last she heard, the couple was still together though no plans of marriage have been announced. Fllay tended to ignore the gossip about the couple's relationship and was just happy that Kira was happy and in good hands. Fllay knew that Lacus was a good person and would do a better job of taking care of Kira than she.

After watching TV for a few hours, Fllay yawned and decided to go to bed early. Placing the dirty dishes in the sink, Fllay shut off the rest of the lights and made sure the door was locked before proceeding to her room.

Once there, Fllay undressed and pulled on a long t-shirt and slipped it on. Deciding not to bother with anything else other than her panties, Fllay got into bed and turned off the lamp beside her bed after checking to make sure the alarm was set. It took only a few minutes for Fllay to fall asleep and once she did her dreams for longing began.

………………………………………………………………………………………..

Cagalli Yula Athha sat as she listened to her Diplomatic Minister give his report on the upcoming visit of Atlantic Federation President Robert Young to the PLANT in three weeks. She was currently located in the main meeting room near her office in the Orb Parliament building. To her right, stood Kisaka, who was in a protective stance that was the norm whenever he was with Cagalli. In front of her, seated along the long wooden table, were the heads of Orb's military, finance, relations, interior, and several important members of parliament.

Cagalli was bored. It was the same briefing that she had been listening to for the past few days. The only reason she was even here was the fact that it had been the request of a few key parliament members to be informed of the current situation.

As she fought the urge to yawn, Cagalli's mind drifted back to the encounter that happened a week ago. The appearance of Fllay troubled the girl greatly. Cagalli had no doubt that it was her; it was too coincidental that the girl looked like Fllay and had the same name as her. However, Fllay Allster was dead.

Kira had told her what happened to the girl during the final battle with Rau. That Fllay had died right before his eyes when Rau had blown up her shuttle. It would be hard to believe that anyone could survive such an encounter. However, Cagalli remembered reading a story in a magazine about a man who had survived a shuttle explosion in space with no suit. He had been drifting in space for some time before he was picked up by rescue ships. It was still a medical mystery and baffled doctors.

Cagalli had kept the encounter at the pastry shop a secret from everyone, including her brother. Kira was happy with Lacus and they were finally talking marriage after all these years of being together. Fllay making a sudden appearance after all these years would be a major upset to those plans. Cagalli knew that Fllay would always be in Kira's heart and Lacus finally accepted that.

What really puzzled Cagalli is that if it was Fllay that she saw, why did she not tell Kira that she was alive after the first war was over? Kira would be more than willing to be with her and had forgiven all her past actions against him.

The issue had been bugging her for the past week and she would even stay awake at night pondering the reason why. For some reason, Cagalli could not let the issue go.

Cagalli's attention snapped back to the meeting as the briefing came to an end. Seeing the other parliament members satisfied with the report and just as bored as she was; Cagalli dismissed the meeting and watched as everyone in the room began filing out.

"Mr. Park, could you stay a moment? There is something I need to discuss with you" said Cagalli, remaining seated. The head of Orb's Intelligence nodded and retook his seat as the last of the group had left the room. The only one still in the room besides Cagalli and Parks was Kisaka.

Cagalli guessed that the man was surprised that she wanted to speak to him. In truth, they only spoke during general meetings with the other ministers. Alex Park was a recent appointment to Orb's Government. When the second war ended, Cagalli decided that Orb needed to improve its lacking and rather incompetent intelligence in order to prevent another conflict from rising again. When Cagalli was considering candidates to head the Intelligence Agency, Alex Park's name came up during lunch with a Scandinavian official. Apparently the man excellently ran a portion of the Atlantic Federation's Intelligence until he found himself out of favor with his employers due to his sympathies of respecting Orb's neutrality during the first war. He was currently unemployed until he was contacted by Cagalli and accepted the job of running Orb's Intelligence Agency. In a very short time, he had turned the Agency around into a very successful and competent organization; his only condition for his services autonomy in running his Agency, which Cagalli agreed to.

"I need a fake passport that will get me into the PLANTS without drawing any attention" said Cagalli.

This caught the Intelligence Chief completely by surprise; however, he did not let it show. "May I ask why" asked the man with an impassive expression.

"I need some time alone and I want to visit the PLANTs without being a public spectacle" answered the blond.

"The passport is not a problem as well as any other problems getting in; however, your appearance might be" said Alex.

"I will worry about my appearance; when can you have everything I need?" asked Cagalli with a slight tone of annoyance in her voice.

"Give me about two days; how will you be traveling?" asked Park.

"I am still thinking about it, I will let you know" answered Cagalli.

The Intelligence Chief nodded and stood up. After nodding again to Kisaka, the man walked out of the room. There was a silence for a few minutes before Kisaka moved from Cagalli's side to face her.

"Do you want to tell me what this is about" asked Kisaka in a very inquiring tone.

"You and Kira keep telling me that I need a break" said Cagalli defensively.

"Yes; but I don't think Kira would approve of this" said Kisaka.

"Kira needs to remember that he is the younger one, not me. So he has no right to order me around" said Cagalli sternly.

"For one thing, we have no clue which one of you was born first; secondly, he is a General in the Orb military and your brother, so he is only looking out for your interests" said Kisaka with a frown.

Cagalli's face softened. "I know; but I need to take care of something and I need to be alone to do it."

"Then there is an alternative motive to this trip?" said Kisaka, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes; but that is a private matter. It won't cause me to be in any danger. I need to do this, can I trust you to let me go" asked Cagalli, almost pleading.

Kisaka sighed. "As long as you wear that emergency beacon you wear as a necklace and promise to activate it if you get into trouble."

"I promise; just cover for me for about two weeks; I will be back in time for the summit" said Cagalli.

"And what do I say to your brother?" asked Kisaka.

"Nothing; if he asks, tell him I went on a trip by myself. If he presses you, remind him of what happened when we last fought" said Cagalli with a grin.

Kisaka had to smile at that. Their last argument ended with Kira being whacked over the head with a book by Cagalli. When it came to the sibling's relationship, it was full of affection and love. However, Cagalli made it quite clear that she was the boss.

Cagalli sat back and began thinking. Once she got to the PLANTS, her investigation would begin. Her appearance could be a problem, but the blond was confident that she could get around it. There was also the factor of tracking down and watching the subject of her investigation. At least she had a location to start and everything would fall in place after that.

Or at least she hoped so.

Author's Note: Here is chapter 2; I hope by now this fic will catch your interest. I know Fllay might be a little OOC, but remember that it is three years after the first war and a lot can happen after that time. I will explain how she survived later in the fic. Next chapter, Cagalli arrives in the PLANTs to begin her investigation; will Fllay catch the girl spying on her? Big thanks to Noshmono and Sideris for the pre-read.

Please R&R


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